Earlier this year I bought four little Strawberry plants from my local Garden Centre, just for amusement really, but in fact they went on to produce a small but very tasty crop of berries, which has inspired me to make this fruit a regular feature of my plot. Well, the first thing I need to do is get MORE plants. Sorry, Mr.Garden Centre Owner, but I'm not going to buy any more from you (reasonable as they were - 4 for £5), because I am going to get mine for free...
My "Strawberry bed" currently consists of a plastic storage-crate containing the original four plants, housed in the big wooden planter outside our kitchen window:
Following Sue's advice, I have trimmed off most of the big old leaves, to allow light to reach the crowns of the plants and promote the formation of new growth for next year.
I have given each of these nodes a plastic pot full of compost as a home in which to put down its roots. To keep things in place I have pegged-down the runner with a U-shaped "staple" made from wire cut from an old coat-hanger.
Some of the runners have more than one node:
This is what the whole ensemble looks like now:
I am also busy propagating strawberries. They will be in pots again for next year or I may invest in a strawberry table.
ReplyDeleteMine just do it on their own (but I have them in beds not pots). I have to keep their runners from smothering each other. My job is to trim those runners out about every couple of weeks. Usually I rip about half the old plants out each year and let the runners fill in the empty spots.
ReplyDeletePropigating strawberries is a) easy and b) fun.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to get plants for free, especially when they give you strawberries!
Growing strawberries is on my to do list but haven't quite got around to it. Your trip to Vienna looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteMuch more methodical than us, we tend to cut the runners off, throw the little plants into pots of compost and let them take their chances - they always romp away. Our strawberries are advancing into the lawn under their own devices too! S
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ReplyDeleteHate to tell you this but you are supposed to only use the plantlets nearest to the plant as they weaken down the line. However, I don't always stick to the rules so who knows?
ReplyDeletePS Removed last comment as I wanted to add that you are being more careful than I am too as like Hillwards I usually snip mine off and pop them in a pot and they have to take their chances without mum!
Sue - "Nothing venture, nothing gain" I say. Sure, the strongest plantlet is obviously going to be the one nearest to the parent, but when you only have FOUR to choose from, you can't afford to be too picky!
DeleteThat's really nice but I read that you should cut the runners out if your plant is still under two years old. This is to make your plants strong and these plants will supposedly give you fruits for at lest 8 years which will otherwise give you fruits only for 4 years.
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